Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. People are cross, annoyed and furious when this happens, but we cannot really expect the clamping or declamping vehicle to be nearby. I have seen in some of the places around town where clamping is liable to happen, the two-hour figure mentioned. I suppose the message is, "We know it is annoying; please calm down and come back in two hours and collect the car." There is no point in fuming around getting increasingly cross because it is unreasonable to expect to be released quickly, particularly at night, when it may take some time to mount the whole operation. It also creates a legitimate and rational expectation in the mind of the customer, who may think that a vehicle is immediately going to whistle up and release the clamp once the charge has been paid. These are complex operations covering large areas of the city and I think that the Minister has chosen an interesting and worthwhile solution. People will know what they can expect, namely, the declampers will be back within two hours but we cannot guarantee anything less and the best thing is not to get too irate. They are probably irate enough already having been clamped. That captures what we were trying to accomplish on Committee Stage. I am delighted to support the Minister on this.